


No More Room in Hell

by abrogxte



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Death, F/F, F/M, M/M, Romance, more pairings and characters will be added soon., zombie apocalypse AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 20:26:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17515346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abrogxte/pseuds/abrogxte
Summary: There’s no more room in hell, so they crawl back up.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> welcome back to another "this has been written years ago but i decided to post it here". this will be continued but the next chapter update is still yet to be announced.

The alarm blaring throughout the whole facility woke the sleeping minds of its staff and in a flash, everyone began to act in a hurry. Papers were flying everywhere, people were dropping whatever they’re holding, and they were all running to lock all the doors and possible exits and entrances. Nothing must come out tonight. Nathalie Leroy, a supervisor of said facility, hurried out of her office, followed by her secretary and husband, Alain Leroy. “What’s going on?” She asked, looking up at the red light blinking, indicating possible danger and intrusion of something unidentified. Alain looked at the light as well and replied, “Love, let’s go.” And the two of them left the hallway.

As they passed by from one hallway to another, it was visible that everyone was trying to get away from something, but she just wasn’t sure exactly what they were running from. She tried asking  Takeshi Nishigori, a scientist in the facility along with his wife, Yuuko, but they were just picking up something, and not directly talking to her. Before the two rushed out of the laboratory they were designated in, Nathalie caught Takeshi whispering to himself, something along the lines of, “There’s no more room in hell, so they crawl back up.” She wasn’t sure as to what he meant by that, but she knew whatever he wanted it to sound is not good to let it slide.

“Come on, let’s go to the President’s office.” She beckoned her husband and they made their way to the office down on the third floor, they’re currently in the fourth. As the two trudged, the blaring alarms kept going, ringing louder with every step down the stairs. The whole facility was wide awake despite the late time of night, no one was talking when she asks them what’s going on, and Alain was just as confused as she. When they reached the President’s office, the door was open only by a few inches, and there was light inside, dim as it could be. She felt a dreaded feeling rise in the pit of her stomach, and something told her she shouldn’t go inside, but there she was anyway, reaching for the cold doorknob, and swinging it open. As her eyes laid upon the interior of the room, the dreaded feeling rose up to her chest, sending adrenaline and fear wherever she looked; everything was disheveled, blood splattered everywhere as well -- on the walls, the floor, and even on the ceiling. At the back was a large broken glass window, like something was just thrown out of it, and the table was turned and broken, full of scratches. Nathalie’s breath hitched and her eyes dilated at the monster holding the lifeless and bloodied body of the President -- he was barely human if she were to look closer.

Taking a step back, the Canadian supervisor finally realized what was going on and rushed out the room, making she’d close the door to buy them some time to escape. When she got out, she grabbed her husband by the arm and they ran to the ground floor where their son, Jean-Jacques, was. The place was even more wretched now and blood littered all over the place, telling the two that many people had already died and an apocalypse has started. Selfishly, they rushed from one hallway to another, down the stairs, and avoided the elevator at all costs. They could hear the screams of the people -- their acquaintances -- calling for help but in order to save themselves, they had to be selfish and ignore their pleas of help and salvation. One of those monsters tried attacking the two of them and they barely made it out alive, but they reached the ground floor and went quickly to their son’s room, where they found him seated on the corner of his room, hugging his knees, and shaking terribly. The blinking red light that alarmed the intrusion of unidentified creatures could be seen from the space under his bedroom door, as well as the footsteps and the shadows of whoever passes by it. Nathalie and Alain quickly embraced their son as tight as they could, glad and relieved to know he’s still alive and barely touched by those monsters. Jean was barely ten years old and Alain pitied his innocence as it was taken at such a young age. “M-Mom, what is happening?” Jean asked, eyes staring at the slightly opened door, the red light seeping in to blink and warn, and shadows of people ran passed it without a care for another thing. Nathalie had no idea how to explain the situation to her eight-year-old son, so she looked around the quiet room in hopes of possible hiding spots, one where he won’t be found.

“I can’t explain it to you yet, son,” Alain spoke, releasing the child from their embrace, “But listen to your mother and father, alright? Something is happening outside your room and no matter what, do not come out of your room. Can you see that hole there?” He asked, pointing his finger at the air vent just a few feet taller than Jean himself, “That hole there is large enough for you to hide in. I want you to hide in there until the sun rises and the place quiets down. Until then, do not come out of the vent, you hear me?”

“But dad-”

“S'il vous plaît, Jean.”Alain interrupted, cutting off Jean’s reply. “For once, listen to your parents and obey without any questions.” Jean released himself from their grasps and looked up at  the vent and then back at his parents. He’s barely ten years old, but the nightmare occuring right outside his room was something that he should not mind. Quickly, he walked to his parents and gave them a hug, Nathalie tearing up and kissing her son on the forehead for the last time. Both of them knew that after this, they’ll never be able to see their son again. “Mom, dad, I love you both.” Jean was already crying when he said that, his voice cracking up a little, too. Nathalie couldn’t handle the tears she kept choking back and cried finally, hugging her son whilst sobbing quietly.

“I love you too, Jean. I love you too.” She said, letting her tears fall down her eyes and soak Jean’s shoulder with it. “Do not ever forget that, alright? And no matter what happens, I’m still your number one fan, and you’ll still be my number one hero.” With that, she released him and Alain helped the child climb up the vent where he’s supposed to hide. After their last glances at each other, Alain and Nathalie left the room and closed the door, blocking it with whatever so it won’t be accessible to anyone.

Jean cried quietly to himself and he tried to cover his ears in hopes it would block out the noise and screams he could hear from the outside of his room. The noises seemed to last an eternity, the light flickered without end, and all Jean knew is that it was noisy and scary. He might have passed out every now and then due to exhaustion, but he’d still wake up and realize that the nightmare was still at it.

Morning swung by painfully slow. The screams finally died at dawn, as well as the blaring alarm as the electricity went out hours prior. Jean woke up to the feeling of heat surrounding his frail and shivering body as the warm sun finally rise up to the start of an apocalypse. Slowly, the child crawled out of the air vent, skin feeling cold but sweating too much. He noticed that the door had been forcibly open, meaning someone must have gone by the night before. Outside his clean room was a disheveled facility; there was blood everywhere as well as scattered papers and broken glasses and turned up tables. Chairs had been torn off, too. But that didn’t scare him, what scared him was the bodies lying around, torn from limb to limb, completely drained of blood. Suddenly, as if on cue, a cold wind ran dry his cold body, sending shivers down his spine as he walked on, feeling the cold blood of those he knew.

By the time he completely reached the outside of the facility, his pyjamas were already soaked in blood for he tripped multiple times on the blood that flood the floor. He sniffled, wiping his face free from the stains of crimson liquid, and he started to run away.

* * *

 

“That’s so terrible… the news.” Hiroko Katsuki said, eyes fixed on the television screen as it displayed the _Bioluminescent Bloody Massacre_ news. “It’s so heartbreaking to know that there are children in there that have died because of an awful, bloodthirsty savage. We must be on high-alert, Toshiya.” Then, he turned to her husband whose mind was occupied on something else: alcohol. Because of that, Hiroko only slouched and turned back to watching. Meanwhile, Mari Katsuki and Yuuri Katsuki were in Mari’s room. The older sibling, 20-year-old Mari, was checking the news through her phone while Yuuri, the 13-year-old socially awkward skater, was looking at the poster he had just bought, amazed with all those sparkling in his eyes.

The three continuous knocks against Mari’s bedroom door stopped the two children from doing what they were doing and let whoever knocked walk in, revealing later their parents with the shadow of worry gazed upon their faces. Toshiya sat down beside Mari and Hiroko next to Yuuri on the tatami mats. “Children,” Toshiya started, barely sober (but he could still talk without slurring, impressive), “From now on, you two should not break away from each other. Wherever the two of you go, may it be the simple convenience store just down town, stay together, stick together, yeah? It’s hard to let you guys go with a killer on the loose.”

“It was hard for us to watch the news, about how one serial killer managed to kill all those people in the Bioluminescent facility.” Hiroko added, now holding Yuuri’s hand with a tight grip. It was beginning to feel painful, but Yuuri didn’t do anything about it, knowing that the situation they’re in is far more important than a mere skin being gripped too tightly. “Promise us you both will be inseparable?”

Mari and Yuuri looked at each other and then to their parents, nodding in unison. Yuuri felt his mother’s shoulders ease, a sense of relief finally seeping its way in her system. The two adults then brought their children in for a warm bear hug. Little did they know, that hug would be the last one.

Three days after the massacre, Mari went down town with Yuuri to fetch supplies their parents needed for their hot spring business. The two walked in silence, and even though they’re used to just silence, it was the first time in a while that they felt as if they’re being suffocated by it. They tried to open up topics, probably talk about Vicchan, but the words just refused to leave their mouths. Even when they reached the busy down town full of strangers going on with their usual lives, they still couldn’t find the comfort they once had with the noise and the city and vehicle smoke around. Entering the usual shop, Mari took out the list she carried with her and Yuuri took a cart to assist them with the heavier objects. As they trudged from one aisle to another, Yuuri heard tires screeching and metal to metal scraping just outside the store they’re in, and he wanted to check it out, but because of their parents’ order, he couldn’t move away. “Yuuri, hurry up.” He snapped back to reality when he heard his sister’s voice beckoning him to follow, to which he did, trying to ignore the commotion just outside the store.

After they were done with the shopping, they carried the bags of supplies and headed out of the store. Apparently, there was a car accident, car against car because the other lost control of the brakes. It was bloody, the cars were crushed like orange pulps, blood of the victims as its juice. Yuuri shivered at the sight of the lifeless victims being rescued out of the crushed scraps of metals. As they were about to move away from the place where the accident happened, one of the victimes, deemed dead, opened his eyes and stared at the medic carrying him out. Out of the blue, he opened his mouth wide and dug it deep within the medic’s neck, causing the oblivious medic to scream in panic and pain. Panic and pain caused more panic within the innocent bystanders who were watching and filming the whole thing.

Yuuri remembered time slowing down for a brief moment. He could see the victim bite on the medic again until he was covered in not only his blood, but the medic’s as well. Two bodies fell on top of each other for a few seconds, and Yuuri remembered counting the seconds of silence before chaos began.

1.

The silence began. No one was moving.

2.

The panicked screaming stopped. The medic was dead.

3.

One woman walked near with a phone in her hand, seemingly filming what’s going on.

4.

Everyone looked at each other and wondered if it was safe. They later joined the woman.

5.

The woman from before was now within arm’s reach. She kicked the medic for any response.

6.

There was none.

7.

Yuuri felt his breath hitched, there was this ugly feeling in his stomach. Meanwhile, Mari looked oblivious and uncaring.

8.

The medic opened his eyes, surprising the woman by lunging on her. The woman’s time reaction was too slow, she was caught in the dead-undead medic’s grasp.

9.

The medic turned into some living dead monster, straight out of _World War Z._

10.

The woman was dead. Everyone was panicking. Yuuri and Mari started running amongst the stampede, trying to keep up.

10 seconds.

Yuuri remembered 10 seconds of silence before chaos reigned forever in the confines of Japan.

“Oh, my god, what the hell was that!?” Mari was screaming along the terrified exclamations of the crowd surrounding the two of them. They had dropped the supplies they bought a long time ago and now they were just trying to get away from the monster that began all the panic. Yuuri held Mari’s hand tight, still not saying anything and he just kept running alongside her. “We need to go home, Yuuri. Now!” And they sped up. The way back home was easier than the way down town, thanks to some short-cuts. Both the Katsuki children were able to go home just in time to warn their parents about the living dead that spread disease.

Their ‘just in time’ was twenty minutes late, unfortunately.

By the time they arrived home, everyone, including the guests staying, were dead. Blood covered the walls and the wooden floorboards. The ugly feeling deep within Yuuri’s chest grew into something uglier. It was as if in this moment, the reaper was swaying his scythe back and forth, cutting lines that represent people’s lives. Mari wasted no time and straightly went to their parents’ bedroom, still not letting go of Yuuri, even for just a second. “Mom!? Dad!?” She screamed but to no avail. There was only the silence and the echoes of her voice.

As soon as they reached the bedroom, Mari kicked the door open, and to her horror -- their horror, they saw both their parents feasting on a dead body. The sound of the door being bust open caught their parents’ attention and turned to look; their eyes were a dead, grayish color. The veins in their eyes were no longer red but gray as well. Their eyes looked like a mirror after a warm winter bath. Mari froze on her spot, eyes wide. “M-Mom…” She whispered with a shaking voice. Yuuri tried to pry himself off of her tight grip but her couldn’t. “L-Let go…!” He mused, struggling to break free but he couldn’t; Mari was a little too strong. “Mari! Let go!”

“No, no, no, this can’t be right.” Mari spoke to herself, finally letting go of Yuuri and the two ran away from the bedroom, their parents chasing after them with a thirst for blood and a hunger for human flesh. Mari sobbed as she ran, Yuuri looked like he was in some kind of state of shock but he was thinking rather rationally -- more rational than his sister right now who just had a breakdown. Their running feet led them to Yuuri’s room, and it was the worst way. Yuuri’s room only had one door, and some large window that was at least a few feet off the ground, high enough that if someone were to jump out of panic, they'd break their feet and be unable to run away.

They locked the door but forgot to barricade it so now they're against the door, fighting for their lives as their dead parents tried to pry it open. Mari was sobbing louder, closing her eyes tight and praying in her head and Yuuri was looking for a weapon to use against their dead parents, and that was when an idea came across his mind. He ran away from the door and looked underneath her bed where he found the metal bat his father gave to him on his sixth birthday (though he wasn't really fond of baseball, his father told him to keep it for some reason so he did). “Get away from the door, Mari. Let them come inside.” he said and handed her the bat.

Mari was hesitant, and despite being 20 years old, she was cowardly. Nodding and trusting her little brother, she moved away from the door and gripped on the bat tight, making sure to not let go in case the door breaks down. Once it did, she swung as hard as she could and hit her father's head with a loud noise, the metal bat resounding against dead skull and crushing it with mighty power. Toshiya fell down and bled, obviously dead for real. Mari grimaced at the thought of killing her own father. Yuuri remained behind her, looking at Hiroko -- or what's left of her physical body -- and her next moves. Of course, out of instinct, she charged at Mari who swung the bat again for the second time. And there was another slow-motion-like moment where he could see what's going on more clearly within a limited time frame.

In that moment, however, he didn't see how Mari hit their mother with a bat, but rather, the memories that he shared with his mother, from the day he saw her face up to their last hug three days prior to this chaos. A part of him wanted to stop Mari and just let Hiroko be, but he was seconds too late.

The sound of the metal bat hitting another skull resounded in his mind.

And he woke up.

Cold sweat ran down Yuuri’s forehead as he sat up, feeling incredibly anxious for being able to sleep comfortably for the first time after the apocalypse began. It was almost a sin if he was able to sleep without any care.

“Yuuri?” A female voice broke his trance and he looked at the far right corner of the room where the voice was. “Are you okay?” She was half-sleepy, but he knew she knew what happened. Nodding at her question, he lied back down and shifted himself away from her, ignoring whatever it was she's saying.

“It was just a dream, Yuuri.” He told himself.

But he, out of all people, knew this was far from being just a child's nightmare.


	2. Star-crossed

Home: it is a four-letter word that’s usually linked to a family -- a happy family, to be exact. Home is a place where there’s warmth, the only source of warmth amongst the cold and cruel world. Home is a place where people feel safe, where the mother, the father, the children feel safe. Home is a nice place.

Hell is another four-letter world. It’s cruel but not cold like the world. Hell is where people suffer. Hell is where the devil lives. 

To Minako, home is hell because that’s where her devil lives -- devil that takes a form of a father.

When she was only 8, her mother died due to physical abuse. Her mother had always been feeble but her father didn’t care and still beat her mother up, ending up with her unable to take the abuse anymore and died because of it. Her other siblings had already ran away from home and never came back, leaving her alone with a devil incarnate. Though she wanted to run away as well, she couldn’t. Every time she tried to, her father would tie her down on the foot of her bed from sundown to sunrise the next day just to prevent her from leaving. He had also installed locks and latches that she couldn’t unlock, resulting in her being trapped inside the house; she could only go out when she has to go to school. When he had to go do his  _ work,  _ which was drug-dealing and drug-consuming, he’d lock every possible entrance and exits just so she could never go out. He had also taken her phone away and anything else that could be a mean of her to get some kind of help. She was clearly helpless.

The torture continued for seven more years. At age 10, she was being sexually assaulted and she couldn’t get help because she wasn’t able to. Every night, her father would come home drunk, and he’d force her into doing things his way -- like before, but only ten times worse. She’d be forced to take it all in, chalk it up, tolerate it. One time she was done so hard she thought she’d never make it out alive, which was a little relieving to think, but unfortunately, she did make it out alive.

That night was stormy. Lightning danced across the cloudy night while the thunder clapped. Minako was asleep in her room, relaxed by the sound of the rain against her window -- the only window in her room. She was jolted awake by the sound of the front door opening and slamming close. She was already shaking terribly because she knew what would happen next. The heavy footsteps walked up to the stairs and into her bedroom door. She wasn't very religious but the footsteps got her kneeling and praying for someone to come and save her from the nightmare she was in. The door slammed open, revealing a drunk 5’10” man whose face was red from the alcohol. Minako’s breath staggered and a lump formed in her throat, making it hard for her to swallow whatever air trapped inside her mouth. The man grabbed her by the arm and threw her on the bed, making some creaking noises as he did so.

“D-Dad, please, don't do this.” Minako begged but her cries and her pleas fell onto deaf ears. She continued to beg her father not to continue what he was doing until he got sick of it and smacked her across the face, telling her to shut up. She swallowed a lump and bit on her lower lip as she was being stripped off of her clothes, the cold and chilly wind from the open door causing her to shiver. She sobbed as his hands roamed about her frail and thin body, slim from being starved and weak from not being able to go outside much. “Dad, please… don't do this.”

“This won't hurt much, darling.” He said sweetly but his words were devoid of promise and reassurance. Once he stopped touching, she knew what's coming next, and tried desperately to break free but his weight was overbearing. She started to scream by then but she knew that only her soundproofed room would be able to hear it. The feeling of his hands roaming down her legs to spread it apart made her scream even louder, and she closed her eyes for the bitter impact, wishing that she'd just die after this. The thunder roared outside her window that one stormy night, and along the roar of the thunder was the sound of the metal bat resounding throughout the quiet, tenebrous room. Minako's screams died down immediately and her mouth was filled with a bitter taste. Immediately after the metal sound dying, her father's unconscious body fell limp on top of her and she wriggled her way out. She fell down the bed, naked and cold. Just a few inches away from her, at the foot of her bed, was a boy with the metal bat which he used to knock the demon out. 

“...Are… are you okay?”

A pretty stupid question to ask, but that was a reminder that Minako was finally free from the abuse and the assault she endured for years on end. Immediately when asked, she covered herself with her arms (that barely covered anything), and nodded, tears streaming down her face as she did so. The boy dropped the metal bat and quickly rummaged her closet for any clothes she could wear to cover her nude body and to shelter her from the cold of that stormy night. Once she was fully dressed, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing loudly, louder than the raindrops against her window. The boy hugged her back, whispering reassurance in her ears. 

Once she calmed down, he helped her pack her bags, and they ran away from the hell she was forced to call home.

* * *

“How did… How did you know about me?” Minako asked as soon as they’re far from the vicinity of her home. The boy, now carrying one of the bags she had packed, looked at her briefly before returning his gaze to the road ahead.

“Call me… weird, or something, but I…” The boy started, his grip on the bag tightening a little, “I keep seeing the bruises you have on your body that you desperately tried to hide every time you go to school. I was so bothered by it so I… decided to follow you one day on your way home, and upon looking at the window of your bedroom, I saw your father come in and just straight-up hit you with that large, hurting hands of his.” By the time he finished talking, he stopped walking, and it was just him and Minako underneath one of the street lights that gave illumination throughout the cold, damp, and dark road ahead. He made himself feel like such a stalker, but he couldn’t avoid her situation, so he jumped in at the right time that night. There was a moment of silence between the two of them and when he looked at her, beads of salty tears were already running down her bruised cheeks. His heart twisted itself in a painful way,  wondering why he waited for two weeks before actually finally putting and executing his plan when he could have saved her sooner. It was a wreck -- he was a wreck, and so was she. He may never have felt what she went through, but just by looking at her, it almost felt as if he also went through that hell. 

Despite the tears that the two of them had been shedding, he still continued, “I learned how to unlock doors using a lockpick that I found in my dad’s office table just in case he lost his drawer keys again, and I used it to unlock the backdoor earlier so I could get in.” Minako wiped away her tears and looked at the road ahead. The rain stopped pouring moments ago, it was just them now and the damp road. “What’s… What’s your name?” She asked after realizing she still hadn’t caught his name even after saving her. The boy’s eyes widened a little, probably in disbelief, but she wouldn’t know. “I’m…” The boy trailed. “I’m Christophe. Christophe Giacometti.”

“I’m Minako. Minako Okukawa.” Minako introduced, properly this time. “Thank you for saving me, Christophe.” 

Minako later was freed from her abusive father, him being arrested and jailed for sexual harassment and physical abuse against his own daughter. She was adopted by another family after escaping her devil incarnate of a father, but remained attending the school where Christophe was, and they became the closest friends. 

It had almost been a year since Minako was adopted. It was one chilly afternoon, Minako and Christophe decided to stay a little right after school just so they could talk about some things. It was a usual thing they’d do since they couldn’t hang out when off-school due to Minako’s new home being on the other side of the town, and Christophe being unable to go there. “How’s life on the other side?” He asked right after they’d sat down on the bench, staring at the fields ahead where the weeds freely grew and the dandelions tore away from its stems and onto the wild. Minako looked a lot healthier than the last time he’d seen her, so he assumed she was well-fed there.

“Well, for starters,” She began, hands playing with the hems of her skirt, “My new parents are really nice, they give me everything I want. They even gave me a phone!” And fishing out of her pocket was a brand new flip phone, the trend of that time. Christophe’s smile widened upon seeing the phone and took out his, “Hey,” He said, opening his own, “Let’s exchange contacts!” And they did.

Right after doing so, they fell into silence once again. “My new family is really nice.” Minako said dreamily, her eyes becoming glossy as she did so. “Mom treats me well, just like what my late mom did, she makes sure I’m okay and constantly asks me about school every time I get home. Dad is very gentle, and he respects confidential information. He doesn’t ask further or press for more issues if I said I don’t want to talk about it, and instead of leaving it at that, he hugs me and tells me that it’s fine if I don’t want to talk about it now. I’m still a little wary when he hugs me, but I knew it’s safe. My little sister keeps asking me about my scars from time to time, and I tell her it’s battle scars. She looks up to me a lot, especially when I’m dancing.” By the time she’s done talking, she looked at him only to find him shedding tears. Panic rose in her and she took out a handkerchief to wipe away his tears, and he held her hand, cradled it on his cheek when she did. 

“I’m just glad I did the right thing and saved you.” He said silently, voice almost cracking. Minako smiled a little more and scooted closer to him, bringing him into a hug. “I know.” She whispered, “Thank you.”

After a minute or two of silence, the two got up from their seats, and started to walk away, leaving the school premises to head to the bus stop where they part ways, but on their way there, something seemed off about everything. Every now and then, they’d see people running away from something, but they didn’t know what, and thinking maybe it’s just that there’s a sale since it’s Friday, they didn’t mind it that much.

When they got to the bus stop, there was already a bus waiting for passengers. Minako was first to get on the bus and waved to Christophe goodbye. The boy waved back and watched as the bus move to the other side of town where Minako lived, the bus wavered and started to move off-track until it eventually halted immediately. Christophe, panic rising within his system, ran towards the bus though it was already a little too far from him, a feeling close to being terrified rising along the panic. When he reached the bus, to his horror, the windows were stained with blood, and there were still people screaming inside. “Minako!?” He screamed, but he was unheard for he was outside. He tried prying the doors open but it was locked shut, completely isolating everyone inside. Quickly looking around, he fortunately found a rock large enough to break those seemingly unbreakable glass windows. 

Taking the rock in his arms, he built up enough strength to be able to throw it with such force enough to break at least the latch that hindered him from opening the doors. To his relief, when he threw the rock, it was bust open, and an iron-like stench came out of the bus, obviously from the blood that stained the whole interior of the bus. Stepping inside, Christophe felt terrified; he didn’t know what he’d see inside, but he knew he was terrified and scared. Million thoughts ran across his mind: what if he didn’t make it in time? What was it that caused these people’s death? What if he’d never be able to go out if he went in? What if… 

**What if Minako is dead?**

Breathing in and breathing out, he removed his bag and retrieved a pocket knife in one of its secret compartments, and mustering up all the courage and what bravery he had inside of him, he stepped onto the bus. And to his horror, he found a lot of dead bodies piled on each side of the bus as if they were trying to break the windows to escape. None of them were moving, so he had assumed they were dead. Still, he knew he couldn’t scream just like what stupid movie characters do in a horror film. “Minako?” He called silently, walking with the pocket knife in his hand, guard up like a brave warrior. He looked at every seat but the 15-year-old was nowhere to be seen. Christophe refused to believe she was underneath the pile, bathing in her own blood, and being unable to move because she can no longer move. No, he refused to believe that. On his way towards the back of the bus, he saw a blood-stained steel pole; someone must have pulled it out accidentally when everyone else was in the state of panic. Picking it up, he continued to walk carefully, blood staining his shoes that he failed to heed. 

“Minako?” He called silently again, raising his head a little to peek at the back seats. He was finally within arm’s reach when he saw a body smaller than anyone else inside the bus. It was lying down on the seats with her face covering her face. Using the steel pole, he poked the body and tried to get a reaction out of the body but there was none for a few minutes. Deciding to poke it again for the second time, he didn’t get much time to retrieve his weapon as the woman had already gotten a tight grip on it. Christophe tried so hard to contain a scream of terror, and to his luck, he succeeded.

The woman who he was poking was Minako pretending to be dead. She had smeared herself with the people’s blood so she’d go unnoticed. “I’m alive.” She whispered, barely making a sound. “But we need to hurry.” Quickly but silently getting off the seats, she grabbed him by the hand and placed a finger on her lips, telling him to be quiet as they walked to the only exit of the bus. 

While they were walking, Christophe was glad that she was still alive, but he wanted to know what caused these deaths. “Hey, Minako…” He whispered to her, “What… What happened?” Minako ignored his question at first and he figured maybe she was too focused on getting out. So far they’ve managed to walk halfway there and Christophe thought they finally might be able to make it out alive, but he felt the steel pole leave his hand the very second he thought of them leaving successfully. The pole made a sound that resounded and bounced throughout the walls of the bus, freezing the two of them in their place. Right after the sound was enacted, the bodies from each side of the bus moved, as if startled. Each head turned to them, looking at them with their gray, dead eyes. They moved quicker than the two ought them to be, so they screamed in panic and started to run to the exit. The boy quickly took the pole he had dropped and rushed to the exit where the dead tried to follow them. 

“Hurry up, hurry up!!” Minako screamed as she got out first. Christophe tried to run as fast as he could but with the blood on his shoes and on the metal floor, it was sort of impossible, and he was trying so hard not to trip and fall to his grave. “Christophe, hurry up!” Finally holding onto the door, Christophe jumped out of the bus, and the two closed the doors with the pole to temporarily lock the doors from the outside. When they knew they were out of the horrors of that bus, they fell on the ground, heaving heavy breaths and sweating like crazy. They looked at each other and Christophe moved towards Minako, embracing her tightly.

“I thought…” He said through heavy breaths, “I thought I lost you already.”

“...You didn’t.”

* * *

It was two years after the  _ Bioluminescent  _ massacre occurred, but Sara Crispino knew it was more than just a massacre -- it was something far more terrifying than just some grisly murders. She tried looking into it because she wanted to know -- she was a  _ Bioluminescent  _ staff, too! She deserved to know! Although she was in a different department than those who had died, she was still desperate to know. Somehow, there were no concrete information about the massacre, just that the victims had some evidence of radioactivity before they died, and some of them were missing a limb or two, torn off like a bear had just chomped it off of them. Some of the victims had bite marks that of a human, but they weren’t sure as to how these deaths happened. The case was still unsolved and Sara was determined to look for more clues. 

One day, the president just announced to make an antidote that would become a cure to this monstrosity. She calls it “parasite cure”, and they weren’t really sure what kind of cure to make since there’s a wide range of parasites that could have a cure, but not until she [the president] showed and made clear what kind of parasite cure to make.

“Do you remember the massacre from the  _ Bioluminescent Genetics Department? _ ” The president asked once, her eyes looking at each and everyone that was in the room, including Sara and her friend, some years younger than she, Otabek Altin. “Two years ago, it happened, and it continues to spread. It’s an awful tragedy that the Genetics Department had started, and it’s unfortunate that we can’t cover it up because it’s already spread before we can get our hands to fix it. The only way to fix it is to make a cure. What’s the tragedy, you ask?” The president paused for a minute and inhaled deeply before continuing, “The Genetics Department conducted a project called, “Project 44”, or simply, “The Clone Project”. From the name itself, they tried to duplicate human DNA to create a duplicate of that person, but along the way, they messed up and we, the  _ Biology and Cure Department,  _ have to fix it up. The error in their project turned its subjects into parasites. These parasites take control of its host’s body.”

“They’re like zombies, but zombies are dead, and these parasites? No, no, they’re very much alive, but they can’t take control. They’re alive and they can see, hear, taste, feel, and whatnot. They can’t speak, and they can see everything the parasite is doing, including killing for survival. The virus is spread through physical contact like being bitten or scratched. Whoever is scratched or bitten will only have ten seconds before they turn into one.”

Mixed reactions filled the room, but all of them fell into one emotion: fear. Sara tried to remain stoic but her heart was clamoring against her chest as if at any given time, it’d pounce out. Otabek sensed the sudden negative rise in her emotions and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, and it did, but only by a little. “Ten… Ten seconds… That fast?” One of the staffs asked, and the president nodded.

“Yes, ten seconds.” She confirmed. “We need to make the cure as soon as possible, and to do that, I need your help. We don’t have all the time in the world like we used to. This is a new world, and we do not know anything about our enemy.”

Sara Crispino knew that very moment that a new war had broken out of its shell.


End file.
